During the War of the Austrian Succession, Francis McLean served with his more famous kinsman Allan Maclean of Torloisk in the Scots brigade in the Dutch service and was captured at Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands) in 1747, where Maréchal Lowendahl, the French commander, praised him for his bravery. In October 1758 McLean joined the British army as a captain in the 2nd battalion, 42nd Foot, and was wounded in the capture of Guadeloupe in 1759. He exchanged into the 97th Foot in 1761, became lieutenant-colonel in 1762. From 1762 to 1778 he was in the Portuguese service, attaining the rank of major-general and appointment to the government of Lisbon. At the same time he dabbled in real estate in North America. He acquired a lot on St John's (Prince Edward) Island and in 1773 was among several petitioners for 250,000 acres in upper New York.
American Revolution
In 1777 the 82nd Foot was raised for service in the North American British colonies and Francis McLean was its lieutenant-colonel. He sailed with the regiment for Nova Scotia in spring 1778 and arrived in September. He replaced Major-General Eyre Massey as military commander at Halifax and was appointed to the local rank of brigadier in Nova Scotia by Sir Henry Clinton, the commander-in-chief in North America. McLean was also responsible to Clinton for overseeing Indian affairs and looking after arriving loyalists.
On 16 June 1779, under Clinton's orders, McLean took an expedition of about 650 men and several ships to Fort Majebigwaduce (Castine, Maine) to find a refuge for loyalists and to forestall an anticipated attack on Nova Scotia by troops from New England. From 25 July an American force of between 2,000 and 3,000 soldiers and sailors in some 40 vessels under the command of Solomon Lovell and Dudley Saltonstall besieged him there. McLean faced desperate odds and prepared to surrender his forces after putting up a respectable fight. His fortifications, especially the newly established Fort George, were under construction and weak. The American commanders disagreed on how the siege should proceed and many of their ground troops were too inexperienced to follow up on small tactical victories. McLean resolved to stand his ground when the American forces failed to attack the British fleet or Fort George and he sent for help. A gale drove back one relief force from Halifax, but Sir George Collier sailed from Sandy Hook, New Jersey on 3 August and engaged the Americans on the 14th, routing them completely. This defeat was one of the most embarrassing American defeats of the war; they retreated up the Penobscot and burned most of their fleet to prevent capture.[2] McLean's casualties were light. He returned to Halifax in the late fall.
McLean was viewed by his contemporaries as a brave and resolute soldier.[3]John Moore, later a famous general, served as a subaltern under him at Majebigwaduce.[4]
As an administrator, some found McLean controversial. Superintendent of Indian Affairs Michael Francklin stated that in 1781 McLean refused to release trade goods to him without explicit instructions from Clinton. However, until the fall of 1779 the government had allowed Francklin to draw all provisions from military stores, but in 1780 he was required to obtain the permission of the commander-in-chief. Another contemporary, the Reverend Jacob Bailey, asserted that McLean arbitrarily took rations away from 200 or 300 loyalist refugees, allowing them to only about 20 people. But Clinton checked McLean's expenditures on loyalists closely and at the same time approved heartily some of McLean's administrative arrangements, such as the establishment of regimental hospitals.
McLean grew visibly ill during the winter of 1780–81, and died on 4 May 1781 at Halifax, where he was buried two days later.[5]
Cornwell, Bernard (2010). The Fort. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN9780007331727. Retrieved 1 September 2018. A historical novel depicting the Penobscot Expedition, with a non-fiction "Historical Note" (pp. 451–468) on sources and key details.
"A Naval Disaster: The Penobscot Expedition," in Maine History Online
"The Worst U.S. Naval Disaster You've Never Heard Of," November 20, 2010, in the National Public Radio website
January 20, 2023
francis, mclean, british, army, officer, brigadier, general, francis, mclean, 1717, 1781, british, army, officer, sons, captain, william, maclean, anne, kinloch, became, famous, defending, ireland, maine, against, penobscot, expedition, during, american, revol. Brigadier General Francis McLean c 1717 4 May 1781 was a British army officer one of two sons of Captain William Maclean and Anne Kinloch He became famous for defending New Ireland Maine against the Penobscot Expedition during the American Revolution The defeat of the Expedition was a noted British victory of the American Revolution He was in command of the 74th Regiment of Highland Foot and 82nd Regiment of Foot 1778 He died 4 May 1781 at Halifax Nova Scotia and is buried in the crypt of St Paul s Church Halifax 1 McLean never married Francis McLean Plaque St Paul s Church Halifax Nova Scotia Francis McLean s hatchment St Pauls Church Halifax Nova Scotia Contents 1 War of the Austrian Succession 2 American Revolution 2 1 Penobscot Expedition 3 See also 4 References 5 Further readingWar of the Austrian Succession EditDuring the War of the Austrian Succession Francis McLean served with his more famous kinsman Allan Maclean of Torloisk in the Scots brigade in the Dutch service and was captured at Bergen op Zoom Netherlands in 1747 where Marechal Lowendahl the French commander praised him for his bravery In October 1758 McLean joined the British army as a captain in the 2nd battalion 42nd Foot and was wounded in the capture of Guadeloupe in 1759 He exchanged into the 97th Foot in 1761 became lieutenant colonel in 1762 From 1762 to 1778 he was in the Portuguese service attaining the rank of major general and appointment to the government of Lisbon At the same time he dabbled in real estate in North America He acquired a lot on St John s Prince Edward Island and in 1773 was among several petitioners for 250 000 acres in upper New York American Revolution EditIn 1777 the 82nd Foot was raised for service in the North American British colonies and Francis McLean was its lieutenant colonel He sailed with the regiment for Nova Scotia in spring 1778 and arrived in September He replaced Major General Eyre Massey as military commander at Halifax and was appointed to the local rank of brigadier in Nova Scotia by Sir Henry Clinton the commander in chief in North America McLean was also responsible to Clinton for overseeing Indian affairs and looking after arriving loyalists Penobscot Expedition Edit Britain defending New Ireland from the Penobscot Expedition during the American Revolution by Dominic Serres On 16 June 1779 under Clinton s orders McLean took an expedition of about 650 men and several ships to Fort Majebigwaduce Castine Maine to find a refuge for loyalists and to forestall an anticipated attack on Nova Scotia by troops from New England From 25 July an American force of between 2 000 and 3 000 soldiers and sailors in some 40 vessels under the command of Solomon Lovell and Dudley Saltonstall besieged him there McLean faced desperate odds and prepared to surrender his forces after putting up a respectable fight His fortifications especially the newly established Fort George were under construction and weak The American commanders disagreed on how the siege should proceed and many of their ground troops were too inexperienced to follow up on small tactical victories McLean resolved to stand his ground when the American forces failed to attack the British fleet or Fort George and he sent for help A gale drove back one relief force from Halifax but Sir George Collier sailed from Sandy Hook New Jersey on 3 August and engaged the Americans on the 14th routing them completely This defeat was one of the most embarrassing American defeats of the war they retreated up the Penobscot and burned most of their fleet to prevent capture 2 McLean s casualties were light He returned to Halifax in the late fall McLean was viewed by his contemporaries as a brave and resolute soldier 3 John Moore later a famous general served as a subaltern under him at Majebigwaduce 4 As an administrator some found McLean controversial Superintendent of Indian Affairs Michael Francklin stated that in 1781 McLean refused to release trade goods to him without explicit instructions from Clinton However until the fall of 1779 the government had allowed Francklin to draw all provisions from military stores but in 1780 he was required to obtain the permission of the commander in chief Another contemporary the Reverend Jacob Bailey asserted that McLean arbitrarily took rations away from 200 or 300 loyalist refugees allowing them to only about 20 people But Clinton checked McLean s expenditures on loyalists closely and at the same time approved heartily some of McLean s administrative arrangements such as the establishment of regimental hospitals McLean grew visibly ill during the winter of 1780 81 and died on 4 May 1781 at Halifax where he was buried two days later 5 See also EditNova Scotia in the American Revolution Military history of Nova Scotia Benjamin Milliken John MooreReferences Edit Donald F MacLean MacLean Hatchment Brigadier General Francis McLean 1717 1781 in Clan MacLean Atlantic Canada website Sir George Collier s Account of Penobscot London Gazette Extraordinary Edition September 24 1779 Biography McLEAN FRANCIS Volume IV 1771 1800 Dictionary of Canadian Biography www biographi ca Retrieved 23 August 2021 Moore John 1761 1809 Dictionary of National Biography 1885 1900 vol 38 retrieved 23 August 2021 HighBeam Texts Dictionary of Canadian Biography History of the Hamilton Regiment Francis McLean Military Papers Maine ArchivesFurther reading EditCornwell Bernard 2010 The Fort New York HarperCollins ISBN 9780007331727 Retrieved 1 September 2018 A historical novel depicting the Penobscot Expedition with a non fiction Historical Note pp 451 468 on sources and key details A Naval Disaster The Penobscot Expedition in Maine History Online The Worst U S Naval Disaster You ve Never Heard Of November 20 2010 in the National Public Radio website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Francis McLean British Army officer amp oldid 1093778967, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
